P.S. I haven't read any of the previous threads (too long! Me scared!) But here's my 2 cents: EVERYONE knew. NO ONE thought it would happen. EVERYONE fooked up when it DID happen. Nuff said.
Another question. Why is that lib governer still refusing to agree with the mayor to evacuate? We have police officers saying get out and the guard is standing by saying "we have not recieved the order to say get out". Has she changed her mind yet or is she still on this trip?
Maybe the equation she sees is - More loss of life = more funds for gov't to spend Maybe she is too stressed and emotionally can't make decisions.
No matter how much the mayor and governer screwed after a couple days feds should have stepped in. The head of fema didn't even know there was people trapped at the dome ... and Will the people choosing to stay now are mostly home and business owners try to protect their house of business , its mostly not the same people as the dome people of course there are probably some people trying to stay to pursue their new career in looting, but thats a different story
I definitely think the looting thing has been overplayed by the media. I think that any major city dealing with such an enormous disaster is going to have a percentage of citizens preying on others, while some are simply looking for food/shelter/water. I'm not saying that looting isn't bad, but there's certainly a difference between trying to get basic living essentials versus stealing material goods or hurting others. There needs to be a way of dealing with this without turning it into a spectacle. It obviously caused problems for a huge number of survivors trying to evacuate the city....all of the sudden the horrible acts of a small percentage of the population stains the reputation of the entire city. It breaks my heart to read personal stories of those who were treated badly because peopled started assuming and treating everyone in NOLA as if they were a thief/sniper/rapist. There was obviously a serious breakdown in protocol from local police and government right on up Federal. What frightens and angers me is that local and state officials and police really don't have the resources or training to deal with disasters of this magnitude. Isn't that what we should have been investing in after 9/11? Do people not think it's important that our country build up defenses and saftey programs here at home? I'm still waiting for someone (anyone) in a position of power to have the balls to bring this up.
Well, anything you read in "Socialist Worker" should, of course, be taken as 100% propaganda. It would be completely foolish to expect anything else from a source of that nature. And, of course, it is even more insipid that the authors of that article promote the idea that theft of private property should not only be condoned by the police -- but actually organized by the police. However, it might also be beneficial to take a moment to think about how government people think. To a government person, you are either one of us or one of them. As a private citizen, you squarely into the them category. Of course government people are going to mistreat non-government people. That's just the way things are. To a government crony, you are either a government employee or a suspect. Please do take a moment to remember the millions of farmers who were murdered in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. Do you know what the protocols are? Please. It's the weather. Weather happens. Weather happens on the gulf coast constantly. Almost everyone affected dealt with it fine. New Orleans was a huge counter-example because of a mixture of ineffective local and state government and ineffective culture. To speak plainly, local levees should be paid for by local taxes. Some people seem to feel that the American taxpayer can be bled endlessly with no negative consequences. This is not true. In America, it is the individual people who have the power. The awesome might of the Federal government is nothing compared to the power of individual action. That is the lesson of America. That is why we are different from every country that came before us.
They made the decision to become looters. That's a decision. That is free will. So tell me, in Canada, are people responsible for their own actions?
Very true. If you chose to live there then that is fine because you are free to chose. However, I would argue that I shouldnt be held financially responsible for any consequences. I sent money to help out, but I hope we can learn from this moving forward.
Well of course, it's the usual crap you find on the Internet. This rates somewhere between Viagra spam and child porn.
You think George Bush rates between Viagra spam and child porn? In that case he probably should be impeached.
I think it's amusing as heck that you are supporting a comical attempt by Saddam Hussein's defense attorney to gain media attention for himself by attacking George Bush. I mean, how can you do that and expect to be taken seriously?
Ok so now you hate defense attorneys too. I thought the American justice system mandated that everyone was entitled to a fair trial and to be represented by competent counsel. I get it. It's a crime to loot but it's fine to lynch. I'm sure everyone will take that very seriously.
I believe he has made a confession. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-09-06-saddam-confessions_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA He's toast.
I'm sighing as I write this because it's not my goal to have a big debate. I understand that you don't agree with what I feel. Simply put, I would much rather see MY tax dollars going to support local (American) resources and training for emergency response systems (whether that's a bombing or natural disaster), then on the war in Iraq. I'm pretty sure there are more than a few people who probably feel the same way. The whole point of the article I linked too was that there was a lack of support and that if there's a system for providing the essentials then people have time help each other. If the police or National guard can commandeer busses that others paid for, then why can't they do the same with food and supplies? I think it's also pretty obvious that the media was happy to pump up the criminal reports...I do think this in itself caused additional problems. Maybe you feel that everything was handled as best as it could have been and that there's no possible way we could learn from this, or that the US is as safe as it's ever going to get. I disagree, but you are more than welcome to your opinions.
Totally agree, all of these so called 'patriots' exclaiming people are at fault for living there are simply insane. No matter where you live there is some sort of natural or unnautural disaster that can take place. I live in an area prone to both tornado's and drunk driver fatalities that happen more often and have a much higher chance of happening than the flood that took place, does this mean I should move and am stupid for not moving? The facts remain the levies should have been upgraded, funds have been cut from the feds over and over during the Bush years. Local communities do not have the funds for these type of projects, who gets the vast majority of taxes? States or the feds, much of this money coming form the feds would have been pumped in from the state originally anyways, even if all of it came from outside of the state what's the point of not spending the money being demanded for especially when the disaster was predicted even by sims run for the federal government. I would think republicans would have this view as the prevention would have cost a whole lot less than this disaster is going to run, not only in tax money, but lost industry, higher prices and the body count. If the pro Bush crowd doesn't care about the people how about the industry destroyed from this? I'd honestly love to spend more time on this especially some of the absolutely ridiculous and untrue attacks from the right wingers who 'quote' right wings sources but state middle and left ground sources can not be trusted? Wow ok I'll believe that, got a bridge you want to sell me as well?
You are probably right. However, there are probably even more IRAQI CHILDREN AND WOMEN who feel a tad bit angry at Saddam considering that he admitted to killing 100,000's of his own people. Im sure those same women and children are quite thrilled that we did spend our tax dollars because unlike people who live in a disaster zone IRAQI'S DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. Be careful with the koolaid.